By Barbara Ruff Parker Our reunion actually started long, long ago when Martha (Thompson Wilcox) reserved our own personal Family Reunion lodge for our class. We had hoped for a whiz bang attendance for this special reunion, but for various reasons several cancelled in the last few weeks. With 14 class members and 5 spouses we had about the same numbers as we had in past reunions. Despite our disappointment in the numbers, we agreed this was a great reunion because of the accommodations! It was SO NICE to be in the same building - like the cozy, intimate feeling of boarding all over again! The lodge had a large kitchen (2 refrigerators, 2 ovens, 2 pantries, a large working island in the center and a long counter separating the kitchen from the dining/living areas). There was plenty of space for several people to work at once and the counter space was great for serving. As a result, all meal preparations went smoothly. The dining area contained 4 tables that each could seat 8 people. Although the only time we ate there was for breakfast, the tables were in use regularly for our laptops, the poetry group etc. All our evening meals were out on the covered porch. The living area had a huge stone fireplace at one end and two large seating areas plus a small table in the corner so several groups of people could interact in the same space. The sleeping accommodations were generous: 7 (?) rooms each with 2 queen sized beds (private baths) and a dorm style room with 3 bunk beds to accommodate 6. It was just perfect for a reunion such as ours. The lodge layout allowed privacy as well as both small and large group communication. Nancy (Nykerk Kleinheksel) and Martha arrived at the lodge by 3:00 on Saturday, July 30 and the rest of us began arriving soon afterward. Barbi (Ruff Parker) and George were the last to arrive backing their small RV in a space at the end of the parking lot. Jim Allen was the only one not to have arrived by evening because his wife, Karen, had become sick a few days before they were to leave so Jim flew in alone Sunday. A spaghetti dinner on the porch was a perfect setting for getting re-acquainted. We all drifted off to bed beginning around 9. Early Sunday Jane (Donahue Bridges) and Barbi went for a walk and later Jane went again with some later risers. Cliff announced that July 31 was Judy’s (Tegenfeldt Fenlason) birthday so after breakfast – make your own including waffles Barbi made - Linda (DeJong Penn-Davies), Dave (Nykerk) and Barbi drove into town to get a birthday cake and card for her. Since we all had so recently arrived at this elevation (8K), we did not plan any physical activity for the day (remember conditioning hikes?) and spent our time talking and looking at old Eucys and photos we had brought with us. Jim arrived just after lunch and we gathered for a class picture. Dinner was Indian food and our after dinner entertainment was slides displayed on the TV. Jim had put together a ‘memories’ presentation from photos people had sent him and Martha had a presentaton of current Kodai photos she brought back from a recent trip. (We gave Judy her cake and card during an intermission between the two presentations.) August 1 One of the highlights of the day was writing poetry with Jane. I daresay all of us who participated were nervous and intimidated, but she led us through the ‘how to’ comfortably and we all plunged in. The results were terrific! All of us came up with something memorable about our Kodai experiences and are sending them to Jane who will share them as allowed by the writers. We broke into several groups, some to hike and one that preferred to relax at the lodge. Steve and Donna with Barbi and George drove over Trail Ridge Road to the west side of Rocky Mountain National Park before taking a ~4 mi trail. Having started hiking later they got caught in an afternoon rainstorm and got drenched! Diane (Bennett Cheek) and Richard went exploring separately; both they and the others who went hiking earlier made it back to the lodge before the rain. Early in the evening Dave took all who were interested to see a beaver pond – with several actively working beavers clearly visible not far away from the road. It was a serendipitous highlight of our reunion. Dinner tonight was a cookout and the dessert - oreo cookie mint ice cream – was a huge hit! After dinner we had a campfire and roasted marshmallows while Martha and Sara Ann (Emerson Lockwood) discussed the Kodai archives project – of which our class is a major sponsor – and our next reunion (when, where, etc.). Garry (and Lois) Schmidt noted that he was the only attendee who had not been with the class in high school, and although he hadn’t shared the social connections formed during those years, he enjoyed getting to know the people we had become since then. On the other hand, Diane had been at Kodai for one year and felt enough of a connection during that time that she made reunions a priority. There really was something for everyone at our reunion. Not a single person could imagine a better setting than this (including spouses, one of whom pronounced that this couldn’t be beat)! We said good bye to Jane, Diane and Richard who had to leave tomorrow. It seems that today was the only full day we were all together. August 2 This morning Sara Ann led a beginning class in yoga for George, Dave, Cliff, Peggy (Shaw Kornberg) and Jack while Barbi did her own thing on the side. We broke into more hiking groups today, all except for George, Nancy, Martha and Jim (who turned out to be sick from a GI problem, unbeknownst to anyone). On the hike to Cub Lake while the forward group was resting, a beautiful butterfly exactly the color of Linda’s reddish gold hair, landed on her red shorts repeatedly as if greeting her! Dave got several good photos of it. It will be a special memory for that whole group. Another trip to the beaver pond was in order for those who had missed it last night. Quite a memorable sight for all! Dinner was another fabulous Indian meal. Nancy certainly outdid herself in menu planning! All our meals were varied, nostalgic, delicious, and abundant! After dinner we had a white elephant gift exchange, postponed from last night when we stayed, talking, around the campfire until 11:00. It was fascinating watching the dismay of people who had chosen an item lose it and the delight of the person who had taken it away. But in the end everyone went away with a new white elephant. August 3 Parting is truly such sweet sorrow. Jim and Linda left early to catch a flight out of Denver, then Steve and Donna left, and after them, Cliff and Judy. Dave, Nancy and Martha piled up the kitchen detritus in their cars and also left. George and Barbi were the last to leave, having to hitch their car to the RV. But it will only be three years until we will do it all over again! |